Saturday, June 27, 2009

We just got home after a very interesting weekend! I am so tired, I am only going to tell you about one part of it right now. Charles was due to fly in on Friday evening. Kayla and I went to a Jazz concert at the Museum of Fine Arts in downtown St. Pete and afterwards we were supposed to pick up Charles at the airport. He called and told us that his flight was cancelled. They were going to put him on a second flight the next morning. The next morning arrived and we found out that the second flight was cancelled. Needless to say K and I were very sad/upset and had to delay our Busch Gardens plans for a few hours. He finally got on the plane, and then his connection. We were so happy and were waiting for his call around 4pm to say he was on his way via cab to BG. NOPE! He called and said, "I'm fine, but we had a little problem with our landing." I will not tell you all the details, you can follow the link or you may have possibly seen all about it on the news tonight!Below is a TBO photo, but tomorrow when I am more awake, I'll pull the photos from Charles' camera. Did I tell you that he has become a very good scrubby-taking photos all the time! Thank goodness my honey is fine and home! Now we need lots of prayers and good wishes for our trip up north!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

I have been spending my last three days at The Doodle packing up the product that I'll be taking up to PA with us. I am officially working at The Doodle's north satellite location! LOL Actually, I am continuing some of my work from up there and designing class and make-n-takes are one of the jobs moving with me! So, I've been packing them up in pizza boxes, putting labels on them and adding them to the piles of boxes at the house! I'm happy and excited to continue being part of the Doodle family, hopefully for a good long time!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Today we signed the next-to-the-last set of papers to finalize the adoption and our adorably cute case worker came by with not only the papers but a rare treat! A few photos of young Kayla! Of course, K says that they are ugly and hates that I'm showing ya'll, but I mean, really, how cute is that face?! K is stomping mad saying, "But ma, people in Germany are seeing my picture." If you ask me, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much"!!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

This morning I went to start the car and the car wouldn't start. I guessed it was the battery and my mechanic thought the same. We had to be out of the house for a showing, so we sat on a bench and figured out what to do. Jackie kindly came to our rescue and took Kayla and I out to Walmart to pick up a battery. I had seen Charles change one before and it didn't look too hard, so I thought I'd give it a try. We went to lunch and for a Boba smoothie and brought the battery home. After gathering tools, checking the car manual and wiping my glistening forehead (since women don't sweat!) I got the first few things loosened, but one bolt was really giving me a hard time, so we had to call in reinforcements with better tools. A neighbor helped us with the bolts and we got the battery in and after lots of gunk got on our hands, we were able to turn it over and...it worked!! Jackie and I were able to change a car battery! This is one crazy proud moment for me who is not mechanical in any way!! Whoohooo!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Wanna know why I love working at Whim So Doodle so much? Wanna know why I'm gonna miss daily life at The Doodle?

This is why. I've been taking boxes home from the store for packing up the stuff at the house. When I opened this box to pack stuff up in, I found a little message written by Jo for me to "find" while packing. How sweet is that?! I'm sure gonna miss them all! (Thanks Jo!)

Monday, June 15, 2009

Guess what? I just saw an ad on TV that said that Martha Stewart crafts were now available at Big Lots! Now, I do love me some Big Lot shopping, but Martha? At the super-duper closeout store? Martha on closeout? Wow! I remember when Martha partnered with EK and tried to make a big splash in the paper crafting market. I was there at the launch party at CHA in the room for EK Elite stores. I saw her stumble up the steps and heard her call rub-ons, "rub-downs". I saw her when she almost had a stoke on stage when someone suggested adding glitter to her daisy stickers. I ate the houres de ourves and rubbed elbows. Saw her go off script and choose not to spell out "Martha" with her punches but the word "BAR" instead! (Did I mention she stumbled up the steps...hummm) I listened to her speeches when she suggested that she and she alone was going to revitalize the scrapbooking industry with her re-branded merchandise. I remember her "exclusive" deals with Michales and all the shelf space they devoted to her products. I remember the way the mom-n-pop stores were cut out of the option to order at the same time as the box stores. I also know that her stuff soon ended up on the WalMart plan-o-gram. But now on closeout at BL!? I love it!! I said from the beginning that her stuff was yucky. Didn't like it at all and we never ordered it for the store. The lesson she should learn from this is that you cannot make a go of "revitalizing the scrapbooking industry" by cutting the mom-n-pops out of it at the beginning. Unless, of course, her master plan was to move along sales by devaluing her brand by getting that beautiful $2 orange price sticker on her merchandise.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Tonight Stacey, Kayla and I headed to Bombay Masala for one last Indian supper in Tampa before we leave. I adore Indian food and luckily have a BFF that does too. Kayla had never tried it before, but she really is a food "trooper" and tries everything. I think given a broader culinary exposure, she could have a nice palette. She enjoyed her Onion Bhaji and Chicken Tikki Masala. She even ate the onion relish and tried (but hated!) the hot pickles. Not many people enjoy the hot pickles like I do! Anyway, my P365 for today...look at how cute Stacey looks! And look at all that yummy food!

I served this fantastic dessert last night at the last regular Whim So Doodle crop I worked and everyone loved it. It is super easy to make, super easy to multiply and the breading part is out of this world! Last night I didn't have milk, so I substituted heavy cream and peach juice and boy, did it taste great! Enjoy!

Mel’s Peach Cobbler

1 large can of peaches, drained (O’Sage ragged are Mel's favorite)1 stick of margarine or plop a few tablespoons from a tub 1 cup sugar1 cup milk (you can also use 1/2 cup of peach juice & 1/2 cup milk)1 cup self-rising flour1 stick of margarine or plop a few tablespoons from a tub Cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.Combine milk, flour, second stick of margarine and cinnamon in bowl and set aside. It is perfectly ok for a few lumps to remain.Melt first stick of margarine in bottom of pan. Put the can of peaches over the melted butter. Pour batter over peaches. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Do not over cook. It will never cook to doneness like cake batter, but will be browned on top.

Friday, June 12, 2009

This evening after we returned with our Starbucks in hand when the realtor had left the house I noticed a dog that was running lose. He looked very over heated and was hunting for shade/water. I felt bad and had Kayla take our dogs in the house. I almost had the dog a couple of times. He was trotting after me, drank a bit of the water I gave him and was wagging his tail. Kayla came out and offered to help. Before I realized where he had gone to, Kayla was very near where he was sitting with his back up against someone's house. She approached as I was saying, "Kayla, I don't think you should get that close" then in a flash he was up on her and bit her upper arm! I ran over and would have made Cesar Milan proud when I "sshut"ed him away. Kayla kept her cool during the event-no screaming or freaking out, she remained calm as well which really helped the situation. I was so proud of her! There were two guys standing across the street watching, but never came over to offer help or see if K was OK. I called around for advice-got lots of conflicting stories and decided to wait a few hours and see if she started turning into a werewolf or something. Our security officer was notified, who in turn notified animal control. After about 2 hours the site was still warm, so off the the ER we went all the while Kayla was squirming about not wanting to get a shot tonight-because, "I am not prepared for it." (She is just too much!) Not much happened at the ER-we got a script for an antibiotic and told that we really didn't need to fill it unless she started showing signs of an infection. They reported the incident to animal control who will search for the dog and owner for proof of rabies vaccine. If not, the ER Doc said that there still is a very slim chance that K will have to undergo shots for the "R" word. (Not nearly as gruesome as it used to be) All in all, this could have been MUCH worse. I think the new mantra around the house is gonna be...What doesn't break me, makes me stronger....What doesn't break me, makes me stronger....

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Today we had to say good bye to our sweet kitty, Tiny E. She was 13 and had numerous medical problems and Dr. B agreed that with all the she was going through, enough was enough. She had been going downhill for the past month and I was being a bit selfish not wanting to let her go just yet, so I waited a bit too long to take her in. Poor little kitty is out of her misery, but we will surely miss her meow-ey greetings and sweet nature.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

I know I am behind the times here, but I bought Kayla Twilight (the book) a few weeks ago, and since I found myself with nothing to read, I borrowed it. Finished it in a day and a half and was "thirsty" for more! We rented the movie, watched it twice, decided to buy the movie, I've watched it two more times, bought and read New Moon, buy all the check-out stand magazines with Robert on the cover, have debates with anyone who will listen on why I like Edward over Jacob, gushed over the manager at Tijiuana Flats on Dale Mabry because he looked exactly like Jacob (and I do mean exactly!), have asked Kayla to hang a New Moon poster in her room since it would look silly if it was hanging in my room, wonder with Kayla if PA is gloomy enough to support a vampire coven, have "buy Eclipse" on my To-Do List, put "New Moon" in my day planner in the November 20th box and ever since working with Meredith on Saturday have visited www.newmoonthemovie.org countless times! I have been bitten by the Twilight curse and like Bella, I never want it to end...

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Weeks ago when we were discussing when Kayla would/should/could come to live with us permanently our goal was always to wait and let Kayla finish our her school year and not have to transfer for a few months. So we decided to wait until she was done with school to have her move in. When discussing this our case worker asked Kayla, "When is school over?" Kayla replied, "June 4th at 2:10." Danyelle said, "So when do you think you want to move in with Jen and Charles?" to which Kayla quickly replied, "2:11!" So at 2:11pm Kayla officially came home with me for good!After school we picked up the rest of her belongings and thanks to The Brett family for letting us use their big van we were able to do it all in one trip. Kayla was so sad leaving her friends and her foster family. I had planned a mini "welcome home" celebration in the house, and when we arrived Stacey had dropped off a bouquet of flowers and a balloon that read, "Welcome Home". Kayla was further shocked to find a big banner inside that said the same with more flowers and balloons! After we unloaded the car we went out for a celebration dinner and came home and crashed! It was an emotional day for K, she cried a lot at school, after school, while packing her stuff, driving away...she cried so much she said her eyelashes hurt! It's been bittersweet for her and she just fell asleep in her room watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Here I sit needing to seriously straighten up the house for the realtor and the photos she has to take tomorrow, but instead I find myself reliving our day, looking at the photos and just crying. Words just escape me right now...I am wholly happy at this exact moment.

Monday, June 1, 2009

We have finally decided on a house in Pennsylvania. I am pretty excited about it and thought I'd share some photos. It was actually the very first house Charles went to see, but he wanted to see what else was out there, so he took a few more weeks to check around and nothing compared to the first one. And the big bonus was that they are very kindly letting us have our animals-thank goodness! It is located in true farm country with not really any close neighbors. Only about 10 minutes for Charles to drive to work. Population 3,200. Kayla's school is a combo Jr/Sr High-she's excited about that! Very, very pretty location! NOW I am really getting psyched! Now to find a renter for our house...

The house at the end of the driveway.

Part of the backyard. How beautiful is this?!!

A double garage with a loft above. What am I gonna do with all this space?

A beautiful red and black country kitchen with a window. I have NEVER lived in a house with a window in the kitchen. I am SO gonna enjoy cooking in there.

Stairs going down to the basement. A basement! A real basement! Do Florida girls know what to do with a basement?

Part of the basement is finished. This half with the built-in bookcases will be my scrapbook area. Kayla and I have decided that the other half will be a lounge area with a bed for guests or sleepovers. Any takers?

Our bedroom, closet and door to bathroom. Our bedroom has 4 windows. And can you imagine the view out of those windows? Winterscapes? I am so excited!!

Kayla's bedroom. She says her new furniture exactly matches the log walls, so we are gonna call her room "all wood grain, all the time"!

The living/dining room. The complete irony of this house is that the owner prefers that we not take down his trophies. Can you imagine us, vegetarians, living in a home with deer heads, stuffed turkeys, etc. all around? How funny will that be?!! LOL

We will have lots of space. Mansfield is not a hot bed of activity, not all that far to NYC, Canada, the Poconos, etc. This is the open invitation to friends and family to visit often!

About Me

I am a 4th generation Floridian who's family's past revolves on or around the sea. My husband is the man who has been my best friend for more years than I can count. We are foster parents & have welcomed a few kids into our home. Our goal is to eventually adopt. We have some furry children-2 Chihuahuas & 2 cats. We have both been vegetarians for over 20 years. I feel most comfortable cooking in a kitchen & especially enjoy cooking for large groups. I love the sound of distant train whistles, a large diet coke from McDonalds, political humor & reality TV. I have a pathological fear of bears, though I’ve accepted them in my yard! I have acted on stage & love the moment backstage just before an entrance. My dad had a green thumb that I wish I had inherited, but sadly I kill most of my plats. I adore movie musicals & have too many favorites to count. The biggest fish I've landed was a 95 lb. yellow fin tuna. There have been many jobs in my lifetime but until moving to PA I worked in the scrapbooking industry since 1999. Now I am "Misses Jen" to a hoard of kids in the crazy-fun Toddler Room of at a Preschool. Travel is one of my favorite things to do & I want to see the whole world!